The broken record that has become the Maple Leafs in their downward spiral continued on Sunday night.

Nine games remain in their 2013-14 season, but is there time to get things right? Or are we watching the sequel, the one where the 18-wheeler has inexplicably come back to life only to hurtle off a cliff again?

With the St. Louis Blues and their 103 points arriving at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday, the Leafs lost for the fifth consecutive game in regulation, going down 3-2 to a New Jersey Devils team that was hungrier in the early going at the Prudential Center and then got solid goaltending from Cory Schneider.

“We have to find a way to stop the bleeding here and do everything in our power to regroup with this club and get them playing to a higher level,” coach Randy Carlyle said.

“It is no easy way when you are down three on the road and think you are going to consistently come back in the hockey games.”

It’s the first time the Leafs have lost five in a row in regulation since October 2009.

The Leafs spotted the Devils a 3-0 lead before the second period was two minutes old and got goals from Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, but couldn’t recover from another lousy start.

They remain at 80 points (tied with the Detroit Red Wings) and now have the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Washington Capitals and two up on the Columbus Blue Jackets.

James Reimer wasn’t around to finish what he started, watching from the bench after allowing three goals on 10 shots. He didn’t make the saves when his defensively lax teammates needed them, and they couldn’t provide him with the kind of support any goalie should get. It’s a lethal combination, one that is leading the Leafs to their doom as Jonathan Bernier nurses a groin injury.

“(Confidence) is never high after a loss and getting pulled,” Reimer said. “As crazy as it sounds, I know I am becoming a better goalie and a better person.

“(The season) has been a ton of adversity in many different forms. When you can weather it and keep your chin up, you just get better. I’ve had time to work on different things and get better, unfortunately it is not displaying itself, but deep down I know I am becoming better. Just a matter of time.”

Carlyle was not sure if Bernier would be ready to play against St. Louis, and if he is not, then what? Does Carlyle stick with Drew MacIntyre, who has never started an NHL game, but was sharp with 14 saves against the Devils? Or go back to Reimer?

Carlyle had a snappy answer when asked about the goaltending change.

“I’m not making any comments on goaltenders, thanks to you guys,” Carlyle said, a reference to the fallout last week when he said Reimer was “just okay” following a loss in Detroit.

Said Tyler Bozak: “I think (Reimer) has been playing good for us. We have not helped him out one bit. It’s easy to pick on the goalie when things are going bad for a team. But it is a team game and we win and lose as a team. We have not been playing near well enough to win games. It has not been him at all.”

The Leafs had no jump from the opening faceoff, and weren’t inspired by David Clarkson’s return to New Jersey. Clarkson was booed every so often, but did not have much of an impact in positive sense and was minus-2.

Damien Brunner scored in the first period for the Devils (thanks in part to a bad line change by Dave Bolland), while Patrik Elias and Jon Merrill scored 32 seconds apart early in the second to chase Reimer. The Leafs couldn’t score on a 5-on-3 that was one minute 16 seconds in length toward the end of the period, and Nazem Kadri snuffed out any hope for momentum when he took a dumb boarding penalty late in the period.

Kessel, in a rare post-game interview, said he was fine after ramming into the post as he scored.

“You know what, I don’t think we are playing that bad. I mean I think we are playing okay,” Kessel said. “We’re getting chances and not getting them to go right now, as you can see. It’s a tough stretch, I’ll tell you that much.

“I think we are outplaying teams right now and not getting rewarded.

“We lost five in a row here, right, so (the pressure) is building. We need some wins.”